Page 33 of Stealing Sloane

“I can.”

“I have to leave now.”

“No—”

“Actually, that’s an excellent idea,” Killian interrupted.

“See? Your uncle agrees, I’m no good around here.”

“That’s not what I meant. I do think you should leave New York because Forte knows you’re here.” Standing up, Killian circled the coffee table to stand beside them. He placed a hand on Jacob’s shoulder. “And you should go with her to protect her.”

“What?” Sloane cried. “No.”

“Yes,” Jacob said at the same time.

“I don’t need protection. I just need to leave.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “And you can’t stop me.”

“Just try it,” Jacob threatened. “I’ll lock you up in the basement facility at Fenrir before you can even get away.” It would be for her own good.

Killian sighed. “Now, now, we’re not going to that extreme. And I’m not proposing you go to Timbuktu or anything. I suggest you both go to West Virginia to stay with your Uncle Jackson. It’s remote and well-protected. Plus, Cliff and Stella are already there, and I suppose you won’t object to being with your sister?”

Sloane hesitated. “I guess that’s fine. For now. What about the work I’m doing with Lizzie? We’re gathering evidence to prove that Ronan ordered the hit on my parents.”

“You can always work remotely from there. And if those guys really were sent by Forte, he’ll have to face the Lycan Council for attempting to murder you and Jacob anyway.”

That seemed to mollify Sloane. “All right, I want to stay informed of everything that happens.”

“Lizzie can do that,” Killian assured her.

“We should go now,” Jacob said. “If we drive all night, we’ll get there before dawn.” He had a feeling if he waited until morning, Sloane would sneak away in the middle of the night.

“Take one of the company cars,” Killian said. “I’ll call Jackson, I’m sure he won’t object.”

“Good.” He glanced over at Sloane, whose expression was inscrutable. She looked to be in deep thought, and at the same time, confused and angry. He couldn’t blame her, considering everything that had happened.

“I can’t believe this,” she said when Killian left the room to call Uncle Jackson. “Why would you even do that?”

“Do what?”

“Rescue me. You … you could have been killed.”

“No, I wouldn’t. Those guys didn’t know what I could do.”

“Neither did I,” she raged. “What if I had done something different? What if I tried to escape instead, and those guys snapped your neck?”

“You wouldn’t have.”

“How would you know?”

Turning to her, he cupped her face gently, gazing deep into her beautiful blue eyes. To his surprise, she didn’t flinch. “I just know, okay?” In the heat of the moment, he didn’t think about it, but now he knew: he trusted her. “Sloane …”

She sighed and leaned into his hand. “If you had?—”

“Ahem.”

They leapt away from each other as Killian entered the office. “Everything’s set. Jackson’s expecting you.”

“Great.” Shoving his hands into his pockets, he nodded toward the door. “Car’s in the garage. Let’s head out.”

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